SIddhartha 13-23

Good job of reading last night.

1. Now that you've read of Siddhartha's time with the Samanas, can you summarize what the Samanas are trying to do?

2. Can you put into your own words what Siddhartha was after in going to be with the Samanas? (This question pertains to the first chapter more than to the second chapter.)

3. Can you put into words why Siddhartha is not content with the life of a Samana?

4. What evidence is there that Siddhartha is good at being a Samana, just as in the first chapter he was good at being the son of a Brahmin (that is, a man of a high class, priestly, devout, and often economically well-off)?

5. When Siddhartha says "I am starting to believe that this knowledge has no worse enemy than the wish to know, than learning" (18), what might he mean?

6. Is training to be an artist somewhat like training to be a samana?

Siddhartha 3-11

The prompts are below.

A few definitions. I don't need you to memorize these--the sense of the meaning comes through in context pretty well--but in case they are helpful, here are some definitions of some possibly unfamiliar terms:

--Brahma: the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe.[1]

Atman:--each being's inborn potential to become and the future status as a Buddha--a philosophical term used within Hinduism and Vedanta to identify the soul. It is one's true self (hence generally translated into English as 'Self') beyond identification with the phenomenal reality of worldly existence.

Satya: truth ( in a capital T sense) or the pursuit of truth

1. What is most admirable about Siddhartha?

2. Do you think Siddhartha is being too extreme?

3. What do you think Siddharths's father would like Siddhartha to become, and how does Siddhartha's desire to become a Samana differ from his father's desire?

4. Would you say that anyone at Walnut Hill has a desire or way of looking at things that Siddhartha' seems to so far? Don't name names; just discuss.

5. Can you find a connection between Siddhartha's way of being religious and the way a Christian, Jewish, or Moslem person might be religious--or is it a completely different way of being religious? Explain.

The Story of Er

Plato as painted by Raphael

1. Someone make an attempt to paraphrase, or summarize, what happens in the rest of the story of Er--the part we didn't read in class.

If you think the person has not completed the task or has said something inaccurate, cpolitely suggest a change or an addition.

2. Can you connect this story with the story of the cave that Mr. Gregg shared with you (from the same source as the story of Er?)

3. Can you come up with a "moral of the story" for the story of Er, other than one should good rather than bad, even though that seems to be at least part of the moral?

Lavinia 257-272

Aeneas sacrificing to his household Penates

An example of a representative of a household god

1. Compare Ascanius' idea of piety (257) to Lavinia's near the bottom of p. 22. Discuss.

2. Why is "Mother Wolf" (258) an appropriate nickname for Lavinia?

3. What are the implications of Ascanius not having any children?

4. What seems to you to be th emostl likely explanation for the Penates (the household gods, who were probably represented by clay sculptures and ceramic pots) of Troy appearing in Lavinium, and disappearing from Alba Longa? (263-264)

5. What evidence is there that Silvius is or will become an effective ruler?

6. There is some evidence that Lavinia turns into a non-human animal. What kind of animal would you guess?

7. Why do you suppose the author has Lavinia change into some kind of animal?

Lavinia 250-257

1. Discuss the word "wolf" in realtion to this reading assignment. where has it come up before in the book? Does that part connect to this?

2. In her dream, Lavinia hears the poet's voice (253). What does the poet's voice tell her that gives her guidance? Explain.

3. Lavinia goes back to Lavinium to tell everyone what she heard in her dream (255-256). How does this help her with her project of holding on to Silvius?

4. Even though Lavinia knew Ascanius would send for Silvius, and made plans, she wasn't prepared with any particular plan when Ascanius' men come. She just decides at that momoent to run away into the forest. Can you think of a way that her making this decision on the spot is like her, or unlike her? To put it another way, why in your opinion does she not decide what to do beforehand?

5. Find a moment in the reading that you like and explain why.

Lavinia 224-240

A painting of Aeneas with his companion Achates encountering Venus. Achates is known for his devotion to Aeneas. In this reading, we see him taking the death of Aeneas hard, and we see the resulting conflict between Lavinia and Ascanius.

1. In this reading, Ascanius' flaws are once again apparent. Is there anything about his youth or upbringing that would explain why he is the way he is?

2. Can you cite an example of his not behaving well in this reading?

3. Can you find evidence of Sylvius being a positive character?

4. We learn that Ascanius wants to separate Sylvius and Lavinia, by having Lavinia move back to Lavinium while keeping Sylvius with him. His plan to get married is the reason to invite her to go home to Lavinium. why would he want to keep Sylvius with him? (There's no one right answer.)

5. Lavinia does not want to leave Sylvius behind for emotional reasons: he is her beloved son. Are there any other reasons why she doesn't want to leave him behind?

Lavinia 212-224

What Silvius may have looked like. This painting was done by a Roman living in Egypt roughly at the time of Vergil' writing the Aeneid.

Some of these questions will pertain to reading assignments from the last couple of nights.

1. Why do you think the fact that Aeneas killed turnus the way he did bothered Aeneas so much? (187-190)

2. Are there signs
that the gods wanted Aeneas' new city to do well? Like what?

3. How does the battle against Camers of Ardea and his men help the new city of Lavinium? (196-198)

4. Give an example of the fact that Ascanius is not a very good character. If someone has written already about your example, find another example.

5. Aeneas gives Ascanius a lesson about being a ruler (218)--put into your own words what Aeneas wants Ascanius to understand.

6. Note that the man who kills Aeneas was able to because Aeneas, when he had his sword at his throat, grants the man his wish to live (223). Comment.

Lavinia 152-173

1. On pages 158-159, Turnus says that he will definitely fight with Aeneas one-to-one. He announces that he has already sent a herald (messaenger) to theTrojan side to say so. Look at the part begins, "The messenger has gone?" and ends "he said, with kindness." Can you explain what's going on in this part?

2. Note that there's a "flash-forward" at 160-162--we're in the time when Lavinia and Aeneas are married, and Lavinia discuss a wound Aeneas incurred during the war, and explains that he had a barbed arrowhead inside his leg at the time he finally encountered Turnus and killed him. Why might the author incoude the detail of this wound, this arrowhead?

3. Can you spot the place in this reading where (one might argue) Aeneas asks Lavinia to marry him, and she accepts?

4. A mysterious omen appears when the eagle grabs the flying swan and then is pursued by the other swans (166-167) and it leads to the truce being broken again. COuld the appearance of the swans and eagle be evidence that the gods do not want there to be a one-on-one battle between Turnus and Aeneas that would end the war? And why would the gods not want the war to end?

5. Which side actually breaks the agreement to have Aeneas and Turnus fight it out one on one--the Trojans or the Latins, and how do you know?

6. Find a sentence or a phrase that you like, and explain why.

A depiction of Aeneas' shield

1. Put into words what is bad about Turnus's treatment of Pallas, the son of Evander, a nearby king who had agrred to be an ally of Aeneas' (142-143)

2. In response to Turnus' treatment of Pallas, Aeneas experiences "the fury" (143). Does his killing frenzy make him seem like a bad man? If not, how are we to interpret it?

3. Does Aeneas' offer to settle things through one-on-one, man-to-man combat with Turnus (146) seem fair and right, or not? Explain.

4. Latinus almost gets his country's leaders to agree to stop fighting (149) but Drances makes things go wrong (1490-150)--explain how.

5. Who acts most like a queen on p. 151--Amata, Lavinia, or Juturna? Explain.

Lavinia 125-139

Aeneas and one of his best friends, the younger Achates, travelling, encounter Venus, who always supports Aeneas


1. Ascanius, Aeneas' son, features in this reading on p. 132 and 135. What do you think of his behavior and words? Why?

2. Generally, do the Trojans behave badly or well in this reading? Explain.

3. How are Turnus's actions in this reading typical of Turnus?

4. Rufus Anso is wounded and brought into the courtyard of the king's palace which is being used as a hospital. Why might the author have included the Rufus Anso part (133)?

5. Generally, does Amata, Lavinia's mother, act well or badly during the time covered in this reading?

Lavinia 114-125

Ares, god of war


1. The myth of Cassandra is that she is cursed to (a) always tell the truth and (b) never be believed. Explain how this myth might pertain to some part of the book Lavinia.

2. Aeneas and Lavinia, later in life, discuss selflessness and men and women. What might Aeneas mean by saying "Perhaps women have more complicated selves. They know how to do more than one thing at a time." (121)

3. Put into your own words how Silvia's deer, Cervulus, is in a sense to cause of the war that follows. Why might the killing of Cervulus (116) seem particularly terrible to Lavinia?

4. Why do you suppose Lavinia asks Aeneas to tell her "why [he] didn't come to talk with my father, right away, when he asked you to come affirm the alliance he offered"? 118 Why would she want to know





5. "The waves lapped one over the other on the shore where the tide was rising" (117). Explain this sentence.

5. Find a part of the reading that you liked and explain why.

Laviniia 102-114

A representation of a Maenad, or follower of Bacchus (I'll explain the connection in class.)

1. Amata, her mother, kidnaps Lavinia in order to get her together with Turnus. She dresses up the kidnapping in an activity that could be seen as being legitimate. Can you explain Amata's plan, in your own words?

2. In some ways it is not very pleasant up in the hills with her mother and her mother's women and other women: find an example of unpleasantness.

3. It could be said that Lavinia acts wisely and is able to escape because of how she acts. True or false? Explain.

4. It could be said that Maruna acts heroically and skillfully in this reading. True or false? Explain.

Lavinia 90-top of 102

Aeneas' farewell to Dido

I changed my mind: no blog comment necessary. Make sure you've done the reading, though. Have a good weekend!

SD

Lavinia 75-90

Aeneas leaves Troy with his son Ascanius, his father Anchises on his back, and his wife, Creusa.

Note: the hair-burning incident is from the Aeneid, though it's only briefly mentioned; the list of violent deaths is a close imitation of Vergil's catalogue of violent deaths in battle in the Aeneid, and Homer included the same kind of list in the Iliad.

1. Lavinia's mother Amata is kind of scary in this reading in more than one place. Provide an example. OR

2. Just when Lavinia is about to give in and say she will marry Turnus, the fire incident occurs, and she ends up telling her father to go ask the oracle what to do. Speculate: where might this fire have come from? Was it random, luck, or did it have a purpose? What purpose? Don't think in terms of right or wrong answers; speculate. OR

3. When Latinus, her father the king, and Lavinia go to Albunea to hear the oracle, the king brings some armed guards. Why? Who does he need to be guarded from? OR

4. What words in the text say that the oracle has spoken to the king and say what the oracle has told the king? OR

5. Lavinia says to Vergil, "He kills like a butcher. Why is he a hero?" And Vergil answers, "Because he does what he has to do." Can you explain Vergil's answer? How could this be a definition of a hero?

Lavinia 60-75

a swarm of bees in a tree

On p. 61., Vergil makes reference to a part of the afterlife-underworld in which lie the souls of babies who died at birth. The reference is to Dante's Inferno; Virgil, in the future, will be Dante's guide tot he underworld. Vergil does not know this yet, yet can see part of the future--this vision of babies in the underworld.

1. Why do you suppose Lavinia hates the idea of babies who died at birth being in a terrible place? What does it say about her?
OR
2. On pp.62-63, Vergil in effect says--the ending of my poem, The Aeneid, is wrong. Maybe I'm coming to see you, Lavinia, because you will supply a happier ending. What words of the book would support this interpretation?
OR
3. At the bottom of 65 Vergil describes Venus, not as a goddess of love and sex and beauty, but as something else. What does she seem to be a goddess of, according to this speech of Vergil's, with which Lavinia passionately agrees?
OR
4. Try to make sense of Amata in this reading. How sincere is she? How sane or insane is she being? What does she really want?
OR
5. Assume Latinus' interpretation of the appearance of the swarm of bees is correct, and that the strangers who are coming are Aeneas and his people. Though you aren't in a position to say for sure, does a swarm of bees forming in the tree of a central courtyard of the palace seem like a positive omen or a negative omen? Or maybe neither one? Explain.